Meet the Cospolich Family – This local family of elite athletes is more than ‘a face in the crowd’
The Cospoliches insist they’re just a blip on the radar among Breckenridge’s bounty of badasses
Anyone familiar with their competitive repertoires might disagree.
For instance, not many locals can say they have so much as attempted the grueling Leadville 100 trail running race. Helen Cospolich has won it as well as numerous other lung-busting ultrarunning events over the last two decades like the High Lonesome 100 that she just completed a few days ago.
Then there’s Jeff Cospolich, champion of a variety of two-wheel pursuits and Summit High School mountain bike coach. At age 51, he continues to land on cyclocross and mountain bike podiums.
Their teenage daughter’s athletic path has taken yet a different direction. Snowboarding is the now 18-year-old’s happy place. Since childhood, she has worked her way up the ranks in competitive slopestyle. The girl can grind the rails, throw backside spins and frontside 540s.
“Growing up with my mom, she made me try a bunch of things – ice skating, violin, Nordic skiing, cross country, soccer … most of the things I didn’t like. That set me up better for snowboarding,” Alina says. “Snowboarding is fun, but it’s also a great community.”
Typical vacation
Recently, Helen and Alina took a trip to Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where Alina participated in a snowboarding camp and her mom spent the days gaining altitude on the local trails at a running pace.
“I would pick a mountain I could see from our apartment and figure out the best way to get there via trail,” Helen says. “I’d go for four or five hours every day.”
While difficult to imagine for some, for Helen, running upward for hours and thousands of vertical feet instills a unique brand of serenity.
“I like the time to think,” she says. “I like to not have a goal and really explore and see where I am. Especially traveling, it’s the best way to see any new place.”
A Boulder native, Helen, 47, moved to Breckenridge in 1999 after graduating from the University of Virginia, where she competed as a Division 1 rower. Working at the Town of Breckenridge for 19 years, as Town Clerk for the last 10, she started here as a ski instructor. Jeff, who grew up and went to school in New Orleans, moved to Breck in the ‘90s “to be a ski bum for one winter” and found work in property management. The two met in 2000 working part-time jobs at Breckenridge Brewery.
The early days
“She was hostess, I was a food runner,” Jeff says. “I remember going to spy on her one day when she was teaching a lesson. I stopped by the Village and saw her teaching French fries and pizza wedges to the little guys. I thought she was pretty cool.”
The two married in 2002 and continued happily pursuing their respective hobbies, Helen earning a Nike sponsorship and joining the U.S. Mountain Running Team and Jeff landing on mountain bike and cyclocross podiums every year. They began juggling an infant into their athletic routines when Alina was born and later, Alina’s own competition schedule.
“The funny thing is, because of all of our experiences as a family, we’ve normalized any kind of extreme sport,” Helen says. “From the time Alina was little, she was going to Dew Tour at Breck, meeting all the pro athletes. When she was an infant, literally 2 months old, I hiked up the halfpipe with her. Then Jeff has had so much success in biking. Knowing this world of sport has been such a natural part our lives.”
Alina graduated from Summit High School and competed in a few more North American circuit slopestyle competitions before going off to college. She is currently studying Pre-Med at CU-Boulder. Meanwhile, Jeff and Helen continue to contribute, in more than just genetics, to the next generation of badasses.
Playing it forward
“Coaching is the least I can do, given how great cycling and bike racing has been to me,” Jeff says. “Being able to travel and meet people has been super fun. Seeing these kids grow up and make friendships, it’s very rewarding. It’s full circle. People who have lived here as long as I have should give back.”
While not a coach, Helen also imparts wisdom to the up-and-coming generation.
“Some of the girls at these races call me ‘mom’ now,” Helen says. “I like being the woman in my 40s racing against these girls in their 20s. I try to help them when they go through bad patches or just need tips or support. I get so much joy running with these young women who have so much energy and excitement for the sport.”
You’ll find all three Cospoliches hammering their hearts out in their respective sports each winter.
“We’re just a face in the crowd,” Jeff says. “Summit County is a humbling place to live and grow up. It’s awesome. You push yourself that much harder.”
We think they are a face, and a force on the trail as well as some serious mountain town inspiration.
Photos Courtesy of The Cospolitch Family
This story appeared in the 2022 Winter issue of Breckenridge Magazine. Head to the website to learn more about Breckenridge: www.BreckenridgeMagazine.CO
Story Sponsor
MTN Town Media Productions | Celebrating the Colorado mountain lifestyle for over 14 Years
Copyright 2024 MTN Town Media Productions all rights reserved.
